Same Shit, Different Day…but New Path
by D. A. Athren
Summary: -Real Life AU- Matt was in a foul mood. Luckily for him, someone else was having just as bad of a night. Friendships are formed in the weirdest of places.


"Ebbbbiiiiieeeeee!"

She woke with a start as she heard a familiar female voice yell from outside her bedroom window. _"What could she possibly want this early in the morning?"_ she thought to herself as she swung her legs over the side of the bed.

"Ebbie I have amazing news!"

Groaning, she dragged herself out of bed and towards the window, opening it more forcefully then she had planned. "Samantha Taylor Jones, do you have ANY idea what time it is?"

The blonde hair, brown eyed girl gave a look of thoughtfulness for a moment before replying. "Yah, it's bout 10 in the morning. That is a very respectable time to yell for you."

Eboni groaned again, turning towards her bedside stand to check the time. Indeed it was 10.05am. Looking back up to the sky, she blinked a few times to check her vision and sure enough, the sky was dark; the clouds heavy with rain. "Ok, I give you that point but still, why are you yelling for me like the world is about to end?"

The blonde beamed as she leaned back on the heels of her red Converses. "Matt Smith."

She dug the palms of her hands into her eyes in an attempt to clear the cold out of them. "Please elaborate. I haven't had my morning cuppa and you know how I can't function without it."

"Matt Smith is coming to Ocean City…tonight!"

She perked up faster than any cup of tea could have possibly done. "What? Why!?"

"Oooooh this is the best part…Arthur Darvill is performing at Seacrets. Matt is just tagging along since he has some down time from filming the Terminator! Now…could you PLEASE let me in!? We can totes talk about our plan of action for tonight!"

Nodding, she closed the window twice as hard as she had opened it; running down the attic steps faster than her knee would have liked her to do.

* * *

Sam sat down to the kitchen table with a dreamy sigh, watching her best friend prepare herself a cup of tea. "So I was thinking we could break out our cosplays from RTX last year. I could do 10 meets Jack and you could do 11 meets Ray."

The short hair girl looked up from her tin of English blend to give her a stern look. "That is the last thing we want to wear if we want to get a good look at both Matt and Arthur. It isn't a convention. They are just there as themselves wanting to have a good time. No, why don't we just go shopping for a new outfit for tonight and maybe some boots? I JUST got my college refund."

Sam pouted at her. "But Ebbie we put so much hard work into those cosplays. I mean, you did look quite seksay with those knee high brown boots you wore and the way you transformed the green jacket into a dress? Priceless! Matt would adore it."

Her bestie rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the, now, whistling kettle. "You act like Matt is actually going to notice me in the crowd or something. Honestly, I'm just going to be sitting in my corner with my new Robert Frost book of poetry while I enjoy the music, which is Arthur's, and sip my Scooby Snack."

Sam jumped up from the table and ran over to Eboni, shaking her. "Woman! We NEVER thought the Tardis gang would show up on our doorstep and here they are LITERALLY 30 minutes away. Are you telling me that a part of you isn't hoping to catch the eyes of the bachelor 11th Doctor."

The short, brown haired girl pried Sam's finger from her shoulder, pouring hot water into the awaiting mug. "Matt Smith is a very handsome, British man. He's tall, slender, great hair, and amazing acting chops. I'm a short, pudgy, 'black' woman who is stuck doing skits with her friends that she uploads on YouTube that only gets 300 views. There is no way that some hot, popular man is going to notice me. Now if anyone has a chance at being noticed, it's you! You are beautiful and quite confident enough to catch his attention."

"Nah," she said as she leaned against the island. "I don't think he is very handsome to be honest! I definitely have my sights on Mr. Darvill, who recently became single."

Eboni smiled at her, handing Sam her choice mug filled with strawberry milk. Taking it, Sam sipped on the contents before giving her bestie a peck on the cheek. "Just the way I like it. Thankies!"

"So…Macy's, David's Bridal, or Wal-Mart?" Eboni asked, taking a sip of her tea.

She pondered her question for a moment before beaming. "Oh I've wanted to get you into a cocktail dress for ages!

"Really, Arthur? You're having a concert at a beach themed nightclub and you want to wear a bloody suit?" he seethed out, looking over the various suits on the rack.

His bearded best friend popped up from behind the rack, several suits draped over his arm. "I want to look good when I am up on stage and the American chicks dig a man in a tailored suit."

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at his friend. "Are we actually getting the suits tailored to us?"

"Yup," Arthur said, "David's Bridal has agreed to do all our tailoring this afternoon for the show for free as long as give them a bit of a plug. I am sure most of the men will be dying to know where our suits come from. Anyway, I'm going to try these on."

"You have a selection already? Blimey, I need to work faster," Matt mumbled as he focused on the suits on the rack again.

"Maybe you should just get here on time, mate. I've been here for almost an hour before you finally decided to show up," Arthur muttered as he headed towards the changing area.

He yelled to his friend. "Oi! My alarm didn't go off and you know I flew in last night."

The only reply he got was a scoff before Arthur disappeared behind a curtain. It took him only a few more minutes before he pulled two suits down from the rack. One was a grey and white pinstriped suit with black shirt and the other was very modern, a tan dress trench paired with black trousers and a sleek dress shirt.

"Come on girlie! We're going to be late for our for our pedi mani!" he heard a woman yell, a set of footsteps heading his way. He thought the shop was deserted since it was nearly closing time.

Thinking fast on his feet, he pulled the suits up to hide his face, speaking in the American accent he had perfected during principle shooting in the past month. "Excuse me, ma'am! Would you be able to assist me?"

"Oh. Sure!" he heard a different feminine voice answer him as he heard the other set of feet run out the door. _"She must be really nice if she would stop to help a stranger instead of making her beauty appointment."_

"I can't quite decide on what outfit to wear tonight. I'll be having some photos taken," he stated, patting himself on the back for coming up with a half-truth that wouldn't give him away. At the Salisbury airport, he was bum rushed by a very enthusiastic group of fangirls. He lost a good pair of reading glasses in the running and he did NOT plan on getting mobbed again.

"Hmmm…honestly, I would go with the casual assembly. It's nice but doesn't scream trying to hard or not from here," he heard the lady state as she tugged at the sleeve of the trench coat. "The Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland is quite nasty towards come heres."

He grinned at the honesty of the lady. "Oh, did you move here or born and raised here?"

"Oh, I am definitely a from here. Unfortunately, I really want to travel though. My mates say I'm more British than American."

He could hear her smile with her words, which made him smirk in enjoyment. He was tempted to lower the suits and take a good look at the lady. He wanted to know how she would react and to put a face to the voice. Before he could reply to her though, he heard the ding of the front door. "Come on! You are taking too long in here!"

"I'm coming! Just bring the car up. It was nice talking to you, sir!" she mumbled out before he heard her barge out the door. After hearing a car pull off from the front of the shop, he lowered the two suits from his face, placing the grey one back on the rack. He did have a thing for modern trendy. People were still talking about his Mickey Mouse sweater to this day. Matt smiled at the suit, feeling quite secure that he was going to look more "from here" than Arthur would.

* * *

"Ok, I'm starting to think these ankle boots were a bad idea," she muttered to herself, trying to catch up with Sam as they made their way into the club. They decided to get in line 2 hours before the start of the show, which paid off for them in the end as they were the last of the crowd allowed into the club due to fire marshal limits. The long wait did not help the fact that her knee was killing her and she left her flats in the car accidentally.

By the time Eboni had caught up to Sam, her friend was already at the bar talking to her 'contact' who got them the tickets to the lounge area where Arthur was going to do an acoustic set and signing after the main show. "Thomas, you did good! Could have gave me a warning about the wait outside though. Ebbie's tootsies are killing her already," Sam exclaimed, pointing down to her feet.

"Wait, you guys waited in line? Sam, did you forget VIP tickets here allow you to skip the wait. Can't believe the bouncer didn't say anything to you two when you came in!" the long haired bartender asked.

With that, she gave her best friend the evil eye who just nervously giggled back at her. "Ebbie, look on the bright side. All those guys said you looked cute!"

"So! My feet are starting to hurt and I'm pretty sure I sweated off all my makeup," she said with a pout, tucking her deep red and white polka dot retro dress underneath her as she jumped up onto a barstool.

"Nah, you still look good girl! Isn't that right, Thomas?" Sam asked.

Thomas looked her over before stating, "I don't even see any makeup on ya sooo at least you don't have runny mascara to deal with?"

She whined as she crossed her legs. "Oh that's just perfect! One hour of work down the drain due to my friend forgetting about something…again!"

"Oi! At least I remembered the tickets this time around. Last time we went to a concert, I left the tickets 3 hours away from us and, in the end, we met those cute boys when we hung out at bar down the street from the Electric Factory," Sam said sheepishly. "I mean, you even got a good night kiss."

She pulled her book from her oversized purse. "Oh, you mean Brian, the guy who said we were dating but turns out he was dating several girls and one guy from different states. He even got all of us the same Valentine's Day gift!"

"Ok…maybe not the best example. Thomas, put my friends drinks on my tab. She'll probably stay rooted in place right there for the rest of the night. Oh, and get her a Scooby Snack. A drink, not a shot and a root beer between each one," the blonde haired girl stated as she handed the bartender a $100 bill. "I'll take a bottle of spring water please."

"You know me too well," Eboni mumbled as she flipped through her book until she found the folded page, marking where she left off.

Sam just grinned at her, taking the oddly shaped bottle of water from the bartender. "And that is why you keep me around!"

"Matt, why don't you go mingle with the crowd?" he asked as he adjusted the streamline cream suit he decided to wear tonight.

The floppy haired man just looked up from his Esquire magazine with a raised, invisible eyebrow. "Why don't you stop being so serious all the time when you are tired?"

He raised an eyebrow back at him. "What does that have to do with mingling with the crowd?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought we were just asking each other to do things we know we wouldn't do when in a particular mood," he said cheekily, crossing his legs as he folded the page he was on and set the reading material off to the side.

Arthur sighed and gave him the best stern look he could muster. "Did you and Daisy really have that big of a row? You guys always fight over the stupidest things…"

"She wants me to give her the dog."

"Fuck her and everything she's about."

Matt chuckled at his comment, actually genuinely smiled at him. He just smiled back at his friend, looking over his freshly trimmed beard in the mirror. "Honestly, Matt. Seacrets is a really nice club. Why don't you go into the VIP lounge and hang out there? It's nice and quaint and no one should be in there just yet since most of the ticket holders will be at the main show."

"Will it be quiet in there? No crazy fan girls?" the floppy haired man asked, standing up from the couch.

"The overhead speakers will be playing the live audio from the show but, all in all, it should be empty and quiet. The two things you need most right now to calm your nerves. I know how snappy you can get when you're in a bad mood and Daisy knows how to put you into a shitty one."

"Ok…I'll go in there then."

* * *

She groaned as she made her away into the VIP lounge at Thomas's urging. A lot of men had come up to her at the bar using quite cheesy pick lines and one even split his drink on her on purpose, trying to cop a feel. "Ugh! I should have known that a halter top would have gotten me in trouble," she mumbled, slamming her book down on the closest table.

Thomas came into the room carrying a handful of wet toilettes and her half- finished Scooby snack. "Here ya go. Try using the toilettes to get that sticky alcohol out of your dress. I know Sam said she was renting her dress, are you doing the same?"

"No," she said a bit slurred. "Though I don't know why I didn't rent? I don't really get out that much. I always have my head in a book somewhere or doing marathons of my favorite TV shows on Netflix or writing."

The bartender pulled out one of the toilettes and handed it to her. "Oh, you're a writer, huh? What type of stuff do you write? Anything published?"

"Naahh, I just write for fun. Mostly fan fiction…not the smutty kind of stuff. When I write stories, my aim is to actually tell a story foremost. If sex comes into the picture then sex comes," she said as she tried to wipe off her cleavage as politely as possible. "I have a thing for Doctor Who though. That's the main reason I'm here. I wanted to listen to Arthur live and maybe get a look at Matt."

"Think you could steal one of their hearts huh? Fangirling hard?"

"Oh Gods no! I don't want to be that kind of girl. I mean, I'm nothing special. Complete and total dork that's me! My friends call me Queen of the Dork Age 'cause I'm so dorky! Most girls want diamonds, I want the newest addition of Dungeons and Dragons. Valentine's Day, most boys take their girls out to dinner and a movie. I ask my guy to play Call of Duty or World of Warcraft with me. There's a reason I'm single besides being noticed by jerks, as you saw tonight," she mumbled as she tossed the dirty wipe in the trash can by the door.

Thomas shrugged at her. "Nothing wrong with being a Dork. You just haven't found the right man to appreciate you. Anyway, I better get back to the bar before my Boss has my ass. I'll check on you from time to time."

She nodded to him and waited until he left the lounge before flopping down in the nearest chair, feeling like all she wanted to do at that moment was cry. "Alright Eboni, snap out of it. The douche didn't ruin your book. I'm sure Robert Frost as a poem for this kind of night somewhere in here," she mumbled as she flipped through the pages of her book.

She was so upset that she didn't notice the emergency exit on the far side of the room was slightly cracked and someone on the other side overheard the entire conversation.

_"__Bloody hell! It's a small world after all,"_ he thought to himself as he heard the voice of the lady from the shop on the other side of the wall. Matt had decided that a bit of fresh air would do him a world of good after receiving another text from Daisy apologizing for demanding the dog they got together while they were a couple. He was about to step back into the room when he heard her barged in but now he understood why she had done so. He would be ready to walk away too if someone had spilled a drink on him on purpose.

By the time, apparently, Eboni had finished describing herself and had settled down somewhere in the room, he was grinning. She sounded pretty confident in who she was and what she liked. He was fighting with himself in whether or not to believe that she really wasn't like the other girls he had seen so far since being in the area. Either people didn't know who he was or they knew all too well and pretty much brown nosed him or tried to trample him. _"Oh don't get full of yourself, Smith! She showed you a random act of kindness earlier. If she would stop to help you pick out a suit, I am sure you can trust her assessment of herself."_

Straightening out his coat and running a hand through his hair, he took a deep breath before opening the door to the lounge and stepped in. The way she looked was not what he had expected. She sat there with her head down, black rimmed glasses on, eyes focused on the hardback book she was reading. She had close cut black hair, a pudgy nose, and full lips. She was definitely on the bigger side on the body scale but she still had define curves that he could make out in the halter top, knee length dress that she wore, which puffed out around her and the seat.

He smiled as he walked over. She still didn't look up to him even when he stood right over top of her. "Hey Thomas, just bring me a root beer, ok? I think I am done drinking for the night."

He chuckled as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned back onto the brick wall of the lounge. "I will definitely relay the message to him."

Matt watched as she tensed up, looking up from her book but not directly at him. Very slowly, she turned her head to face him, her jaw dropping as he gave her his best 'oh yes, it is me' look.

* * *

She knew that voice anywhere. Someone popped on the TV and Doctor Who was playing, she could hear his 'Oi' from a mile away. So, it was surprising to turn her head towards the voice and to find the actual actor standing there. Yes, of course, her jaw dropped a bit. She was stunned for quite some time while he looked at her expectantly with a look of 'Well, are you going to say anything?'. It was when she looked over his outfit that things started to click in her head and she was able to gather her thoughts enough to actually say something. "That suit…I helped you pick that out earlier…" she mumbled, setting her book down on the table.

He nodded and cleared his throat and with an American accent said, "Yea. I figured a woman's opinion is always good when looking for a good suit. I was also hiding since I had already been trampled once today and I didn't realize there were still customers in the store."

Eboni cleared her own throat, finding it painfully dry. "Well, it definitely looks very nice on you. I chose well!"

"Aye, you seem to have a natural knack for fashion, I see. Your dress is quite gorgeous," he said nervously, returning to his natural accent.

She looked down at it and then back up to him. "I'm usual not one for dresses. My friend, Sam, she has been dying to get me dressed up in one for ages now."

"Oh, no school formals here in the states?" he asked, sitting down across from her.

"Oh, plenty of school dances. In fact, I went to my Senior prom at the last minute, oh, 10 years ago."

"Ten years ago!? You don't look a day over 20."

She took a sip of her forgotten drink, amused by his statement. "I'm 28 so thanks for the compliment. Do you sweet talk all the ladies?"

He smiled at her brightly, leaning a bit over the table. "You tell me. I'm sure you've read a lot bout me in the papers. What do they say?"

"Why would I trust the tabloids and newspapers? In the end, they are just there to make a big deal out of nothing in the hopes that the public would eat it all up. No, no, I rather just hear it out of the horse's mouth since he is, apparently, sitting right in front of me carrying on a normal conversation."

His smile widened as he sat back in the chair. "I honestly don't think I am much of a ladies man. I can't seem to keep one by my side in the long run. I rather have something long term then flings here and there."

"Yea, I understand," she said as she leaned back in her seat as well. "I can't seem to find a man with common sense. They just…they're either irresponsible or use me, in the end. Common sense isn't that common anymore."

"I'm sorry to hear that…if it makes you feel any better, you seem like a really stand up kind of girl. Maybe you just need a change of scenery and such," he said with a wave of his hand.

"Wooow, Matt Smith is telling me I'm an OK gal after talking with me for 5 minutes," Eboni said before downing the rest of her drink. "I have to say, I think I can die happy now."

"Marked something off of your bucket list, aye?"

"Oi! Don't get a big head now. I just never thought in a million years I would actually be lucky enough to get to have a conversation with such great actor like you. I'm a total Whovian and honestly, Moffat did your skills no justice with his subpar writing at times," she said with a smirk, watching him closely.

He just shrugged his shoulders at her, a half smile on his face. "Change is necessary to progress all things great. You gotta know when it's your time to go and it was my time to go. Three years isn't a bad run, no?"

"Nah, it isn't bad at all."

They sat in silence for a while, just looking at each other and getting a feel for what just happened in the last minutes. It was Matt who spoke again after a roaring applause thundered through the nightclub. "Oh, wonderful, Arthur's finished his set. Here comes the fangirls…"

"You sound like you rather be somewhere else."

"I've had a really rough night. Ex-girlfriend has been quite a…nagger today. Threaten to take my pup away she did! I rather have…singular company than a whole crowd."

What? Is he dropping a hint at her? Matt Smith just said in so many words that he was enjoying her company. Matt FUCKING Smith…

"Well, I am a from here. I know all the little hole-in-the-wall places but aren't you here to support your mate?" she asked continuously.

"Who? Arthur? Yes and no. Arthur is plenty confident in his ability to woo the crowd. He, more or less, asked me to come out here because he thought I could use the break. He assumed that such a small area wouldn't recognize us that much and he's partially right," he grumbled as he stood up from the table. "Again, I probably would stay if I wasn't so pissed off. Last thing I want is someone kissing my arse at the moment. I don't know if I could be nice about it. I get…tetchy towards everyone in the mood I'm in. I, uh, overhead the kind of night you've been having so, yea, we're kind of lost souls tonight."

She pondered his words for a moment, standing up from the table as well. "Well, Mr. Smith, I do believe at the last convention you attended you mentioned liking a cold glass of brew after a long day. I know just the place to go. That's if, you know, you want me to show you…"

His ear-to-ear grin made her heart flutter as he took her hand and dragged her towards the emergency exit. "I could think of nothing better at the moment!"

* * *

"Oh my Gods, Matt, don't rock it!" she squealed as he watched her bury her face into his shoulder. He couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction as the Ferris wheel started up again, another seat filled. "I honestly didn't believe you when you said you were afraid of heights!"

The look that she gave him probably would have scared him if he had been sober but 5 pints, a shot of Jameson, great conversation, and an unlimited riding bracelet later, he couldn't be mad or scared of anyone right now. Eboni just slapped his arm and looked out towards the ocean, which drew his attention to it as well. The moon was high in the sky. The ocean a blanket of black silk with diamonds scattered over the surface. The night air was a bit chilled but nothing compared to the cold found in England. He had given his trench coat to the amazingly interesting girl sitting next to him when she started to shiver constantly after riding the rollercoaster for the second time.

After riding everything on both piers at least once, they decided to end the night with the Ferris wheel. He didn't want to admit it but he wasn't quite ready to go back to his hotel. Going back to the hotel meant he had to face all the photographers and extreme fans and he just didn't feel like facing that at all. Especially not after meeting Eboni and talking with her. Why couldn't more people be like her? She had her fangirl moments tonight yes but she also argued with him over science, politics, and respected his decision to be Atheist while she followed the teachings of Wiccan, which then had them talking over his 3rd pint and her Long Island Ice Tea about what Wicca exactly is.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Her voice snapped him to reality as he realized he had been staring at her, "Oh, sorry…honestly I was just thinking about how nice the evening picked up once we left Seacrets. Thank you."

She smiled softly at him, placing a hand over his left one. "It was my pleasure. Not every day I get to talk to a star and find them humble and down to earth. Thank you for trusting me. I still don't understand why but I'm not complaining about it. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone about our evening together."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Even if US Weekly offers you 5k for the story and to make it juicy?"

"Nah," she laughed out. "As much as I could use the money, I wouldn't do that to you. You're my friend and friends don't do that to each other. We might be rare but there are people out there that have some good in their hearts."

He brought her hands up in front of him and bowed his head to her. "Miss McCready, you humble me greatly."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Oi, I'm just a Shore girl who enjoys all things dorky. I was raised with common decency and an open mind. I haven't even shown you everything the area has to offer. You still need to get yourself some salt water taffy, Fisher's popcorn, and Thrasher's french fries. And I meant to take you to the Candy Kitchen tonight before it closed but we got a bit wrapped up at the bar!"

"Candy Kitchen?" he said with a tilt of his head. "Is it like a huge candy store or something like that?"

"Oooh it is better than that! They make all their name brand candies from scratch and some stores even carry some exotic imported candies and such."

"Oh my that sounds so awesome!" He jumped up and down a bit in the seat, making it rock. Eboni squeaked in surprise, throwing herself at him and clinging to him tightly. He blinked in surprise a few times before wrapping his arms around her in comfort. "Sorry, love. I just get really excited about sweets. Is there a shop open at this time of night?"

"Nope," she squeaked out so high he could barely hear her. "They closed about 10 minutes ago. They open really early though, bout 6 o'clock but shelves aren't stocked with fresh sweets until 8. You should definitely check it out when you wake tomorrow."

He frowned. "I'm a terrible morning person. And why are you making it sound like I'm going by myself?"

She pulled away from in, a look of surprise upon her. "I didn't think…well, I thought this was a one-time thing. Figured you'd have to leave tomorrow or be busy doing, you know, famous people stuffies."

_"__After everything…she really thinks I'll just forget about her…"_

"If famous people stuffies includes sneaking out of your hotel room to avoid the photographers and crazies then yes, I am going to be doing that tomorrow. Honestly, what's the fun in exploring a city by yourself? Better with two, innit?"

He watched her blink a few times before the widest grin he had seen yet on her face spread across it. "That's the best thing you have said all night!"

"Oh, so my final monologue wasn't good was it?"

"Oi! Don't you even start!" she growled out. A moment later, he felt another slap to his arm which he played up to be extremely more painful than it was. They laughed in unison, which seemed to make them laugh even more. By the time they had settled them, he had a cramp in his side and she was leaning heavily on his shoulder, wiping tears away from his eyes.

Oh, this was the start of a relieving friendship and all it took was his ex-lover reneging on her promise to talk things out with him face to face. But…that was a different story to think about on another day. Right now, all he could think about was how he was going to spend another day enjoying the lush beach town with his new, honest friend.


End file.
